HB 26-19: Pedophilia and Human Traffickers are Evil Act (Failed)

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Nay

[Rep Jessica]

Aye

Our kids are worth it!

[Poirot]

aye

The original bill has seen major changes following objections raised, section dropped, punishment changed, adapted for regions. It has become a basic bill on pedophilia and sex trafficking. These are serious crimes and with the work the House has done on this should be adopted. 

[Joseph Cao]

Aye. Basically all of my concerns about this bill have been alleviated (and there were a lot, believe me), with input from most of the House and a considerable number of others.

[Joseph Cao]

…the bill ties, 4-4-1-0.

Ball in your court, Mr. Vice President.

[Mike Thick]

Alright, here goes.

I’ll begrudgingly concede that some folks have put in serious effort to rework this. I’m impressed that you guys came up with a bill that didn’t fail, but which also isn’t totally off from the wacked-out original proposal. That’s the kind of thing that makes the governing side of the game fun.

That said, these changes haven’t addressed the disagreements I voiced earlier. I don’t think jacking up penalties for crimes beyond a certain point deters people from committing them. I also did a little research, and victims of human trafficking are entitled to restitution under current law, so I don’t think the portion of the bill addressing material compensation would change anything.

Human trafficking is an abhorrent crime. As Poirot noted, we have to do more to stop child pornography from being circulated online, and I would happily support a proposal addressing that issue. However, because I don’t think this is the right way to prevent crimes or help victims, I vote NAY.

[Joseph Cao]

With the Vice President's tiebreaker, the bill fails.